


Leaving Home

by Bluewolf458



Series: Escape [3]
Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 21:49:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14222505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: Jim finds the courage to rebel





	Leaving Home

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2018 Sentinel Bingo prompt 'payback'

Leaving Home

by Bluewolf

As he emptied the attic of William Ellison's house, Jimmy carefully put the boxes into two piles; one, the boxes of things he thought could be dumped without a second thought, the other, the things he thought were worth donating to charity... if he could persuade his father that charities were not there purely to encourage laziness.

And he wouldn't be doing it verbally. He would be leaving a note. Because he had decided to follow Stevie, and slip away before his father arrived home from work. Even though it was Saturday, William had still gone into the office.

Apart from some clothes, the only thing he was taking were the three diaries written by the uncle he had only just learned about that day... He hoped that by reading them he could find out something about the excellent sight and hearing his father had bullied him into negating.

He carefully wrote the three notes he was leaving., one each about the two piles of boxes. The one about his own departure said simply, "I learned today about my Uncle Thomas and your jealousy of him. I am no longer prepared to suffer as a substitute for him."

Leaving the three notes where they would be easily seen, Jimmy walked out of his father's house for the last time.

He make his way first to his bank. He had been paying most of his not-very-generous salary into an account there, but he wouldn't put it past his father to find some way of blocking his access to it. He therefore went in, withdrew all the money and closed the account.

Tempted to simply go to a rival bank and open an account there, he thought about it for a moment and decided that no; he would wait until he reached a different city before opening a new account. It wouldn't be impossible for his father to discover which bank he had changed to; but why make it easier for him?

Now - how to leave Boston in a way that couldn't possibly be traced? Well, just boarding a train or bus without pre-booking a ticket, he wouldn't have to give a name... and yes! Easy to get to New York. From New York he could go anywhere! Well, anywhere in America, he corrected himself.

Okay - first step, New York.

***

A week later, having moved from New York via Denver, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle, Jim (who had decided that version of his name sounded less juvenile for this new life) ended up in Olympia, and applied to the Police Academy there.

He enjoyed the training, the camaraderie he found among his fellow cadets although he knew that they'd be scattering to join different police forces throughout Washington once they qualified.

With no home city to apply to, Jim looked at the options and selected Cascade as his final destination. It might be possible to get further away from Boston, but for some reason he didn't particularly want to go south, though he wasn't sure why.

He spent his time in Patrol then applied for a detective's badge; after a year in Vice he applied for, and got, a position in Major Crime.

And if there were times - especially when he was rereading his Uncle Thomas's diaries - that he would have liked to rub William's nose in his success (if only as payback for all the denigration he had suffered at William's vicious tongue) he reminded himself that he was free now.

But he still missed seeing the subtle colors in a vivid sunset...


End file.
